Gaia & God

By Rosemary Radford Ruether

Book Description

In this profound exploration of spirituality and ecology, Rosemary Radford Ruether examines how Western religious traditions have shaped our relationship with the natural world and each other. Drawing from her extensive scholarship, she investigates the complex legacy of Christian and Western cultural heritage, revealing both its destructive patterns and its hidden potential for transformation.

Ruether approaches this investigation through an ecofeminist lens, recognizing that ecological healing requires both theological reflection and deep psychic-spiritual work. She argues that while classical traditions often reinforced hierarchical domination over women, workers, and the earth, they also contained glimpses of transformative, life-affirming relationships that deserve careful preservation and cultivation.

The book's title reflects a central tension in contemporary spirituality. As growing numbers of people view the traditional Western concept of a transcendent male deity as alienating and destructive to earth-based consciousness, many turn toward Gaia, the ancient Greek earth goddess now embraced by scientists as a symbol of planetary interconnectedness. Yet Ruether suggests that simply replacing one divine image with another misses the deeper challenge.

What emerges is a call for entirely new consciousness, symbolic culture, and spirituality. Ruether envisions healing relationships that transform how we understand the connections between men and women, different social classes and nations, humans and earth, and humanity's relationship with the divine. This sweeping theological work offers readers a framework for integrating social justice with ecological awareness, presenting spirituality and eco-justice as interconnected aspects of personal and collective transformation.

Who Is This For?

📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~9 hours)

📄 Length: 310 pages

What You'll Discover

✓ Explore Religious aspects of Patriarchy
✓ Explore Feminism
✓ Explore Violence
✓ Understand ecological consciousness
✓ Explore Bt695.5.r83 1992
✓ Explore Religious aspects of Feminism
✓ Explore 261.8/362
✓ Explore Feminism, religious aspects

Topics Covered

Religious aspects of Patriarchy Feminism Violence Human ecology--religious aspects--christianity Bt695.5.r83 1992 Religious aspects of Feminism 261.8/362 Feminism, religious aspects Patriarchy Violence--religious aspects--christianity Ecofeminism--religious aspects--christianity Creation Religious aspects of Violence Ecofeminism Patriarchy--religious aspects--christianity Environmental ethics Religious aspects of Human ecology Christianity Feminism--religious aspects--christianity Human ecology Religious aspects